Seven years passed since Zander came in for the first time to that reformatory. At the age of eleven, he tried to run away from that place, but the placement of the reformatory made the escape failed, and this time he came back, by his own volition, almost with hypothermia. The caretakers, or rather, the people who ran that place, did nothing to warm him. When Cody saw him come into their room, the raccoon barely was able to stand. He ran to hold him up to keep him from falling. He took him to bed and placed the sheets from both beds over the frozen raccoon. Zander couldn’t stop shivering, so the chipmunk curled over him, so the heat of his body will help to warm him. The raccoon, seeing how he helped him, with a sad voice, thanked him.
Cody knew Zander tried to escape from that awful place by himself, without any help, so since that very day, he helped him to think of a plan to get away from there. Two years passed, and today, it’s ‘D’ day.
All the kids in the reformatory knew they could leave the home at any time, but there was nothing for miles around, so they always came back. And for that same reason, the caretakers passed the day without doing almost anything. That same day Zander managed to get a backpack from one of them. It was big enough to fit some sheets in it, but he knew that with only that, the cold of the night would get to him. That’s why he’d be taking Cody with him. That night two years ago, Zander thanked the chipmunk for saving his life, but he got the idea that, with both of them on the night, they could warm each other thanks to the body heat they release. Zander was lucky that Cody was a chipmunk and not a lizard, because they don’t give any heat.
They had to be careful, the caretakers takes any item that came out of the door without permission, and carrying some bed sheets would look suspicious.
Luckily, Cody was very apt at moving with agility through complicated places that others would deem impossible. Meanwhile, Zander used the chance to get out, as he weren’t planning anything, and came out by the front door like a ghost. He walked around the building and when he got to an unwatched side, he called Cody to throw the bag at him. The chipmunk did and came down the stairs immediately, trying not to get noticed. When he was outside, he ran to the side of the building to meet Zander. He wasn’t there.
He was alone in a place where some of the older boys meet to do “stuff”. To his surprise, he found the friend of that animal who got his finger bit off by Zander. He remembered him, oh he did, that raccoon’s chipmunk friend… because of him he lost a friend and the respect of all those who feared him gone in a stroke. The other animal ran away as soon as the chipmunk showed, he didn’t want the others to know about his sexual preferences. Cody didn’t knew what was going on, so he just stared at the one who hated him. He was afraid, and didn’t knew how to defend himself, even after Zander tried to teach him. The other one jumped after Cody, and before he got any closer, Zander jumped from some bushes and hit his face to the brick wall. That malicious animal got a cut on his left eyebrow, and a fang broke free.
The chipmunk stared at Zander.
“I thought you left without me.” He said sadly.
“I was just hiding the backpack while you arrived… I’ll never leave you, hope you know it. And don’t think so much, you’re not good at it.” He answered.
The chipmunk smiled when he heard that. Zander opened much more to him, his personality had changed a lot the previous years, and he was more amicable now.
They ran into the bushes where Zander hid the backpack and ran away from that place forever. They were smiling while running across the plains, surrounded by mountains. The freedom was shining on their eyes, finally escaping that house where nobody cares about nobody. They were shouting loud and jumping, and finally reached the entrance to a forest, a deep and abundant forest that reaches where your sight can see.
During the day they could hear the sounds of birds singing, the wind on the leafs of the trees whispering in their ears. And at night, the sounds of some wild animals. In some way, Zander felt like at his real home, where wild is the law to survive.
That night, they camped at the foot of a huge tree that was placed just in the middle of the vast forest. That was a nice place to settle their new lifes if they could manage to make something like a home. But that would be their first task at the dawn of the next day. Meanwhile, Zander pulled out the sheets from the backpack and covered him and Cody, while the chipmunk was hugging the raccoon because of the cold night. Zander reacted with a smile and looked at him, and hugged him too. In the middle of the silent night, Cody asked something to Zander:
“I have a question ... before I got to the side of the house ... what these two guys were doing before?”
Zander got his face red and answered him with another question:
“Y… you really… don’t know?”
“No” Answered the chipmunk and refreshed the question to the raccoon.
Zander tried to explain what those two were doing with words that little chipmunk could understand without getting weirded out. Once he explained to him, the chipmunk followed:
“So… they went there because they liked each other, but in secret?”
Zander replied with an affirmative move with his head while looking towards the starry night sky with his face red.
“And, what they do?” smashed a bit more the chipmunk, getting Zander out of his comfort zone, always without knowing anything the little chipmunk. The eyes of Zander were big as plates. He couldn’t believe it. Was Cody insinuating something? Or he was just curious? He didn’t want to lie him, so he told him the truth.
“They go there to kiss each other, and sometimes, have more contact than their lips“ explained.
The chipmunk made a sound of thinking “I’m cold…” said with low voice. The raccoon wrapped him with his furry body and told him to try to sleep.
Cody felt asleep that night, but Zander stayed up all night. He really liked that little munk, but wasn’t sure about if in another way or not. He just stayed up hugging Cody, cuddling his cheeks on the munk head.
The sun was rising through the leafs, sunbeams of light touched the furry guys. Cody woke up, stretching his arms while Zander gave him the good morning.
“How have you slept, little one?” asked the raccoon. “Really nice, haven’t felt cold at all tonight” answered the fella. The raccoon smiled when he listened that coming out from him. Zander standed up and packed the sheets inside the backpack, and putted it on his back. He grabbed Cody’s arm and pulled him up, was time for a bit of work. They had to find some wood to make something more consistent to sleep within. They were on a big forest, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
“Well, let’s split up to find some branches, and remember, if you are in danger and aren’t able to bite, just shout my name” advised the raccoon. He rubbed the chipmunk’s head, and went to a different direction.
The day transcurred without any incidents. At midday, they met again at the foot of the big tree where they slept last night. They collected a huge amount of wood. And was time to eat something. Zander collected some fruits for both while he was recollecting branches and wood. Both sat next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, and ate the fruits. Cody’s stomach was not that big, so he got full with very few of them. After eating, they rest for a while, making jokes and laughing.
After a while of joy, Zander told him to start working a bit more. He needed that Cody find some leafs, so he could make a rope to tie all the wood and branches. The little chipmunk stood up quickly and was ready to collect all the leafs he could carry. Zander smiled and did the same, and both got separated searching for some leafs.
Cody was looking at the ground and on the top of trees trying to find some big leafs, but suddenly a big and wild snake appeared from behind the trunk. It was a constrictor snake, and grabbed the wrist of the little chipmunk. This one screamed out and loud Zander’s name. The raccoon did hear him and quickly as a bolt was there. The constrictor was squeezing with force the whole arm and Cody was so afraid that started to cry. Zander from one jump landed on the head of the snake, and with his claws, ripped an eye from it. Immediately the snake released the chipmunk’s arm and ran away while bleeding with abundance.
“Are you Ok now?” asked worried the coon. “Yes” answered with tears in his eyes and crying. Zander grabbed him on with his arms and took him to the tree.
“Stay here, I’ll be back in a moment” said Zander. As he tried to stand up, the little one grabbed his hand with a sad and afraid eyes. “Don’t worry, you are safe here” said with a smile.
So the raccoon went to the place he dropped his leafs and then to where Cody was attacked to recover what he dropped too, and returned to the tree. He sat next to the little munk and started to make a rope from them. The sun was about to hide, so he ran as fast as he could to make a little tent, so they could be a bit safer and sheltered from the cold.
Night fall down, and they dined the fruits from the midday remained. Cody was much better now. Zander made a fire, that night was a bit more cold the the other, and Cody went next to him.
“Thanks” said the little one while hugging him hard. “Your welcome, you know that” replied surrounding him with his arm. A few minutes of silence passed with both hugging each other, when Cody broke it.
“Zan… Would you had taken me to the side of the house, if we still were there?”.
Zander looked at Cody with big eyes, surprised about the question he just thrown at him.
“Wh.... What?!” stuttered the raccoon.
“Sorry if I bothered you…” said the munk with sad voice looking to the empty night. Zander was in shock. He didn’t expect that from him, or at least, not that early. Cody was grasping the fur of the arm of Zander. The raccoon took the chipmunk face with his hands and put his nose touching his ones. Cody’s eyes went big, and Zander put one of his hands in one of the cheeks of the little rodent. The chipmunk went red, just as the coon.
“And you, would you like it if we were still there?” asked Zander. Cody smiled closing his eyes. In that instant Zander tilt his head a bit, closed his eyes and kissed the chipmunk.
